I was recently asked in an interview: "Why are so many women so unhappy with their closets? What is the issue here?” I was about to delve right into a long answer about fast fashion, 24/7 marketing and all that, but then I actually thought about it for a moment and said:

“Confidence"

Every day I get emails from women who know how they want to dress in theory but who are too afraid to actually do it. Because of what other people might say, because they don’t feel pretty or thin enough or because they don’t want to attract attention to themselves. Their closet isn’t the problem, it’s their lack of confidence.

“Don’t let insecurities dictate the way you dress or keep you from having fun with clothes.”

Training confidence

If you suspect your own confidence levels are crimping your style a little (or a lot) at the moment, don’t worry: Anyone can learn to be more confident, with a little bit of training.

That’s where the Closet Confidence Challenge comes in. It’s a 30-day program designed to help you expand your comfort zone, boost your self-esteem and dress more and more in line with your personal style, through daily mini assignments.

How it works

Your goal is to complete all 30 assignments within one month. How you do that is up to you: Pick one assignment to work on every day or tackle several in a row on weekends, however you like. Some of the steps are simple things you can do in ten minutes at home or on your commute, some are a little more time-consuming, so just work through them in any order that fits your schedule.

#Closetconfidence

Throughout the challenge you’ll often be asked to style outfits, either using clothes you have in your closet or whatever you can find in stores (no need to buy anything, just try stuff on). Those assignments are the perfect opportunity for you to share your progress with others who are completing the challenge at the same time. Post your photos on Instagram using the hashtag #closetconfidence. And don't forget to tag me (@anuschkarees) so I can check out your outfits :)

Print-out version

To make it easier to keep track of your progress I created a printable version of the challenge with checkboxes and space for you to write down the date you completed each assignment. You can download it here:

Download

So who’s up for a challenge and wants to join me for the first round in July?

If you are busy tomorrow, but want to start on July 1st, just pick something simple like number 22 (compliment three people on their outfits) as your first assignment!

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